Yamuna Rejuvenation: A Financial Paradox

Synopsis

The ecological journey of the Yamuna River from Uttarakhand till it merges with the Ganga and Saraswati at Triveni Sangam in Uttar Pradesh. Followed by bilateral cooperation between the Government of India and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Reviews its three phases, YAP-I, YAP-II, and YAP-III, and highlights their agenda, finances, and outcomes. Further, the document analyses the key bottlenecks faced by governing authorities. The report concludes with an assessment of the latest remarks made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding Yamuna rejuvenation.

Ecological Flow of Yamuna River

The Yamuna River originates from the Yamunotri Glacier in Uttarkashi District, Uttarakhand, India. It is a Ganga Tributary, completes its 1,376km (855 miles) course by flowing into the Ganga River and merging at the Triveni Sangam in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh.

Yamuna enters Delhi from Palla Village in Sonipat District, Haryana and exists from Okhla, Noida in Uttar Pradesh. The entire stretch is of 48-53 km.

However, the most polluted and the dirtiest 22-km stretch between Wazirabad and Okhla barrages and nearly 78% of the entire Delhi Population is dependent on the Yamuna River for Basic needs. It has 22 Drains out of which Najafgarh and Shadhra contributes 80% of the dumping.

From Wazirabad Barrage till Okhla Barrage, there are 37 Sewage Treatment Plant (STPs) in 20 distinct location with the capacity of 814 Million Litter per Day (MLD). Upto 20-25% is underutilized as faulty sewer networks and clogged up drains. In India, the Yamuna River is used for bathing as a sacred river and also provides water for drinking and agricultural purposes.

Bilateral Collaboration between India and Japan

The Bilateral agreement between India and Japan to clean the Yamuna River was launched in April, 1993. India and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Further, in rural areas, water supply development projects are supported as part of the development of basic infrastructure for the living environment of the poor.

In Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA) soft loans for India in the water, sewerage and sanitation sector, with loans totalling 402.5 billion yen, including Phase I (FY1992, ¥17,773 million) (₹419.44cr) and Phase II (FY2002, ¥13,333 million) of the project, have been approved.

The Objective was to

1.Establish Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs): 29 STPs were constructed across 21 towns in three states, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. 2.Treatment capacity to intake sewerage [725 MLD (Million Liters per Day) 72.5cr liters/day] 3.Reduce Pollutants from the river. 4.Establishment of Crematoria and Public Toilets. Implementing Educational Activities regarding Environment and Hygiene.

Targeted Area

The Beneficiary area of this project were 15 cities in 3 states, including 6 cities in the state of Haryana, Yamunagar, Kalanaur, Panipat, Sonipat, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Jagadhri, Karnal, Palwal, Ambala, Shahabad, Kurukshetra, Gharaunda and Delhi which is directly governed by the federal government, and 8 cities in UP, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad, Noida, Vridavan, Mathura, Agra and Etawah.

Formation of Yamuna Action Plan (YAP)

The Yamuna Action Plan (YAP) was formed in the year 1993. Yamuna Action Plan (YAP) was initially positioned as a plan to follow the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) that was incorporated in the 7th 5-year plan (1985-1990).

It was decided in August 1987 by the Ganga Central Planning Committee to prepare a separate independent plan for Yamuna River water conservation because purification of the Ganga River depended largely on improvement of the water quality of the Yamuna River.

Output

Across all three states, the planned project exceeded the actual outcome. This was because output was increased, particularly in Delhi, where pollutants in the Yamuna River were at pinnacle, as a result of increased domestic awareness in respect to environmental up gradation.

The completion of the project was expected in 1997, but delays in sewage treatment plant construction, land acquisition, and information and educational activities by local NGOs, and delays in payment processing for local NGOs.

The process was completed in February 2003, about 9 years, 10 months, and 27 days after launch.

Water Measurement

1.Dissolved Oxygen (DO): Oxygen from the air dissolves into water at the surface; it is essential for the survival of aquatic life. PRE-YAP: 4.0MG/L (Target) Post-YAP: 0.0 mg/l (failed in urban stretches).

2.Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD): A high BOD means the water has a lot of dirty waste and sewage. PRE-YAP: 3.0MG/L (Target) Post-YAP: 30.0 mg/l (failed in urban stretches).

3.Faecal Coliform (FC): Sewage or animal waste has contaminated the water supply. PRE-YAP: ≤500 MPN/100 ml (Target) Post-YAP: crosses ≤2500 MPN/100 ml (failed in urban stretches).

4.Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD): Fast way to check water pollution levels. PRE-YAP: <20MG/L (Target) Post-YAP: crosses 80-260mg/l (failed in urban stretches)

Reasons behind failures

1.Zero Natural flow, at the Hathnikund Diversion and nearly 97%-99% of natural river water coming from the Himalayas is diverted into two artificial canals – Western Yamuna Canal (Haryana to Punjab to Rajasthan for agriculture), Eastern Canal (UP for agriculture irrigation).

Downstream of Wazirabad, 22 sewage drains, including Najafgarh and Shahdara, empty 80% of raw sewage, treated STP effluent, and industrial toxic runoff.

2.Increase in Population: During the 1991 census, the population count was 9.42 million (9,420,644cr.) which later increased up to 13,850,507cr. However, Delhi Produced 180cr liters per day of sewage in 1993.

3.Delays in sewage treatment plant construction, land acquisition, and information and educational activities, changes in the schedule for information and educational activities by local NGOs, and problems in payment processing for local NGOs.

Yamuna Action Plan Phase 2 (2003-12)

Aim was to increase the sewerage capacity by developing sewerage facilities and also aimed to promote water quality conservation and raise understanding of the Yamuna River basin in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh (UP) State and Haryana State of India, through awareness and Public Relations (PR) activities to the residents as well as strengthening the institutional capacity of executing agencies.

Operation and Maintenance (O&M) cost required for the facilities has also been secured; thus, the sustainability of the project effect is high.

Measures to scale up YAP2

Capacity Expansion and upgradation in STPs, Existing STPs in major pollution hot spots are expanding the capacity of STPs. Earlier, Conventional activated sludge wherein large pollutants were cleaned up; however, leftovers used to create algae and suck up oxygen. Construction of "Mega-STPs", YAP-II, from the smaller plant models to constructing massive, high-capacity plants in Delhi capable of handling hundreds of MLDs at single sites. Incorporating the "Pipe First" Strategy.

What was the need to launch YAP3, 2012?

1. Instead of building new STPs, the aim was to prioritise desilting and reparing damaged sewer lines to ensure appropriate utilization of STPs to the fullest. 2.Under the YAP-III, it is proposed to rehabilitate the damaged trunk sewers to maximize the utilization of available treatment reparing damaged sewer lines to ensure 3.Appropriate utilization of STPs to the fullest in three catchment areas of Delhi namely Okhla, Kondli and Rithala. 4.Construction of a new state of art STP in place of old STP of 136 MLD (13.6cr litres) capacity at Okhla and to equip them with tertiary level treatment facilities to achieve. 5.Treated effluent quality of 10 mg/1 for Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS) so as to improve the water quality of river Yamuna.  6.Construction of Mega STPs of 546MLD at Okhla. Rehabilitation and capacity enhancement of Major STPs at Kondli and Rithala. 7.Integrations and aligning STP directly with drains along with major drains such as Najafgarh at South West Delhi and Shahadara at North East Delhi.

Summary of Yamuna Action Plan Timelines and Investments

Explains the aim, expenditure, and outcome across the three project phases. YAP-I (1993–2003): Spent Rs. 682 crore across 3 states (Delhi, UP, Haryana), covering 15 cities with 269 schemes. BOD load reached 260 tonnes per day at completion. YAP-II (2003–2013): Spent Rs. 624 crore across 2 states (Delhi, UP), covering 2 cities with 32 schemes. BOD load stood at 270 tonnes per day (2008). YAP-III (2012–2025): Highest funding at Rs. 1,656 crore, narrowly focused solely on Delhi with 8 major schemes. BOD load remained high at 264 tonnes per day (2019). Despite massive funding increases (more than doubling in YAP-III), total BOD load in the river has remained essentially flat (~260–270 tonnes/day).

Latest Update on Yamuna Rejuvenation Plan

On June 8, 2026, Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a review meeting on the issue of Yamuna rejuvenation in Delhi. Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Manohar Lal, Union Jal Shakti Minister Shri CR Patil, Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Shri Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Chief Minister Smt. Rekha Gupta, Shri Pravesh Sahib Singh and many senior officials were present in the meeting.

-Aim was to clean the Yamuna not in a fragmented manner, but through an integrated action plan driven by a spirit of teamwork. -Shah also stated that the three states of Haryana, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh must collectively ensure a standard ecological flow in the Yamuna River.  -On July 15, 2026 MoU was signed between MCD and National Dairy Development (NDDB). To prevent waste from Delhi's dairies from entering the Yamuna, this waste will instead be converted into biogas and manure. -28.57 lakh MT of silt targeted for removal this year; 97% has already been extracted, and the remainder will be removed by June 15, said by Shah. -129 Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) have been constructed so far across Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, and an additional 59 STPs will be built by the end of 2027.  -Continuous monitoring of various purification parameters like Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS). -Shah claimed to review the progress of work in the Yamuna Rejuvenation Project every 20 days.

Rethinking the Decision

Why did it take more than three decades for policymakers to acknowledge that the Yamuna Action Plan was falling short of its objectives? Simply constructing more sewage treatment plants (STPs) was not enough, and the real hassle is upgrading the sewer network capable of carrying wastewater to DSTPs or STPs via Sewer lines.